Rita Piccinno

Rita Piccinno, age 83, of Wayne passed Sunday, November 24, 2019.

She was born to Liborio and Rosaria Piccinno and raised in Paterson at 23 E. 23rd Street. She was a graduate of Central High School in Paterson with the Class of 1954.

Rita’s first job out of high school was a secretarial position at a law firm in Paterson. When the lawyer passed away she found work with the George Vermuelen Insurance Company in Haledon. She continued to work at the agency when George’s son Bill took it over and the agency was purchased by the Turner Group. She stayed with the Turner Group through their acquisition by the Hansen & Ryan Insurance Agency in Totowa. She worked in the insurance industry for over fifty years before retiring in 2014. About fifty years ago during her days with the George Vermuelen Insurance Company she took on a side job of doing the accounting for the Fair Lawn Cemetery.  She did this for over fifty years and up until the day she passed she was still doing the books for the cemetery.

Rita had a great sense of humor, was for the most part quiet, and was the kind of person who was extremely generous and as the saying goes would give you the shirt off her back if she could. She loved her pets and had parakeets, parrots, and several dogs over the years.  She loved all of her animals as if they were her children.  For many years she enjoyed getting together with her sister Dolores around the holidays and making their mom’s Italian Christmas Cookies. They made so many it took a couple of weekends to complete the array of cookies. She is also rumored to have made great cannoli.

Rita was the loving sister of Dolores Di Tacconi and her husband John of Oak Ridge; much loved aunt of Lewis Di Tacconi and his wife Karen of Glenwood and John Di Tacconi and his wife Suzanne of Florham Park; she was the dear great-aunt of Anthony Boonstra and his wife Nicole of Murrieta, CA and Vincenzo Di Tacconi of Florham Park; she was also the dearly loved great-great aunt of Jackson and Scarlet Boonstra of Murrieta, CA.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations to any animal rescue/shelter or the American Cancer Society would be greatly appreciated.